Senseless1's 1998 Subaru Legacy GT 2.2 NA-T Build

[Senseless1]

Hold on for one quality image...

[doublechaz]

Mine has been running with that sprocket loktite 609 into place for more than 10 years. I did put the woodruff back in with some jbweld to make up the gap. Yes, thread those holes and use a puller or slide hammer, I did that. I think I ended up with an SAE thread to match my puller and the already existing holes. It was not difficult to do this even on the car with the A/C in place but radiator removed.

 

With the glued on sprocket, be sure to coat your front main seal with vaseline or axle grease before you start. If you get too much glue on there with no grease protective layer you will explode your front main seal enough to leak 3 quarts in 8 miles.

 

Also, be sure the keyway is still ok enough to get your sprocket rotational alignment or your cam timing will be out and it will probably run like crap.

[Senseless1]

Yeah the keyway channel is only wiped where the crank pulley went, if I can get an undamaged crank sprocket I think it'll be fine. At least worth trying. Again, I only need a year or two out of this setup.

 

Guess I better change the crank seal before I do all this lol

[Senseless1]

Mine has been running with that sprocket loktite 609 into place for more than 10 years. I did put the woodruff back in with some jbweld to make up the gap. Yes, thread those holes and use a puller or slide hammer, I did that. I think I ended up with an SAE thread to match my puller and the already existing holes. It was not difficult to do this even on the car with the A/C in place but radiator removed.

 

With the glued on sprocket, be sure to coat your front main seal with vaseline or axle grease before you start. If you get too much glue on there with no grease protective layer you will explode your front main seal enough to leak 3 quarts in 8 miles.

 

Also, be sure the keyway is still ok enough to get your sprocket rotational alignment or your cam timing will be out and it will probably run like crap.

 

This loctite 660 looks pretty legit for gap filling up to .02" and has about 150% of the 609 shear strength so I guess we are getting closer to the right track.

 

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/product/retaining-compounds/loctite_660.html

Edited May 4, 2020 by Senseless1

[doublechaz]

I don't remember where I cam up with the 609. It says it is for putting gears on shafts permanently without a key so sounded good to me. Even stronger sounds even better.

 

Also, 609 isn't really permanent. Exposed to about 100c of engine heat, the data sheet shows it was down to about half strength after 10 years. Which in my case was good because I was taking it apart to swap oil pumps. A little more propane torch heat and the threaded holes and it came apart no problem. Same procedure back together until I get time to learn engine building.

[Senseless1]

Crank sprocket is swapped out finally. I couldn't afford a slide hammer so I made do with some 1/4" all thread, two flat peices of steel, hardware, tap and dye set, hammer, and the dampener bracket that goes on the front subframe lol

While hobbling this together I had my car heat running full blast through a single vent to heat up the new crank sprocket.

I'm pretty much glueing the crank pulley back on, but the crank sprocket has full key engagement with an interference fit even being too hot to hold vs 40-50* shaft temp, so I will only be using the loctite 660 to fill in the gap from the wiped key and full diameter of the shaft.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Senseless1

[doublechaz]

Cool.

[Senseless1]

New timing kit and covers cleaned up and back on. Pulled a valve cover to do gaskets and spark plugs, but there is so much build up I'm aborting this mission for more brake clean and some simple green from home. Luckily I had two dead batteries to trade in so I got 4 cans of brake cleaner, pack of towels, and a nail brush. I'll rotate this nail brush out with my old one and use the old one to scrub the valve covers with simple green and use the brake cleaner on the inside of the head with the engine rotated downwards.

[Senseless1]

Also yes I stepped on the anti seize tube by accident. Twice. Things got a little dicey with my harbor freight torque wrench not liking being as low as 20ft/lbs either but thank God I know what too tight is and stopped and reset the tool on a larger fastener to check the tool and find the appropriate torque feel.

Lots of little stuff fighting the whole way. I'm running ugly fasteners through a die to clean up their threads as well to avoid any issues with going back together smoothly.

 

Also yes that is the space I have the do the valve cover gaskets and moroso oil pickup and pan reseal. I might bring the pan home and soak it in a bucket since the valve covers look like crap. I have a new oem ej25d oil pan and new dip stick in storage for a 2.2L Nat build (keeping the heads from the old engine to swap something else )

If the shape and baffling are similar I may just swap them idk that's a 20+ min drive away just to get the old pan. Ugh I wanted to be swapping and transporting engines today.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

Valve cover gaskets ready for new sealant, turbo and engine mounts off.

Had to vacate for dinner and to let it air out from brake clean in the back corner of the unit.

Feels really good to start seeing progress again. Looks like the donor engine had a bad leak at the oil drain. I didn't think of this until now, but I sure hope the tdo4 and my 18g have the same diameter inlet lol I'm also coming to terms that I have a long way to go on the harness to so it correctly. I really wanted to avoid integrating the two harnesses outside of the car, but I think thatlly be creating risk and potentially more time in double checking afterwards.

Hoping to be on track to have the valve cover gaskets done and reseal oil pan now that the engine is getting more empty of fluids. Good Lord some nasty stuff came out of the valve cover breathers. I'll be sure to put my aos on the donor engine. Idk if the VF39 chra needs an oil restrictor or if I can just full send. My NA-T setup had new coolant pipes but we're never connected, so I just ran that setup no oil restrictor. I guess if it was going to fail it would've done so back then?

[Senseless1]

Moroso oil pickup is in, but I'm not bothering with this oil pan. It looks exactly like my ej25d oil pan I have brand new in box about an hour's drive away. I'll make the final call when they're side by side, but I don't see the difference between this 04 ej255 oil pan and a 98 ej25d pan. Baffling looks the same as well.

[Senseless1]

Think im going to see if I can figure out how to get a ej25 in the back of a VW rabbit tomorrow...wish me luck

[Das Ninjabot]

Think im going to see if I can figure out how to get a ej25 in the back of a VW rabbit tomorrow...wish me luck

There'll be plenty of room! Good luck!

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[Senseless1]

Also I figure out a pretty painless way to remove the dipstick from the oil pan. As gently as I could taking care not to crush the tube I clamprd some vice grips on and hit the vice grips with a hammer away from the oil pan. I did remove the 10mm bolt for the dipstick (and immediately lost it...) Also I ripped the turbo inlet, so I guess I'm not getting out of pulling the intake manifold.

Also had a random thought thought a composite intake would be pretty cool both literally and figuratively

[Das Ninjabot]

Also had a random thought thought a composite intake would be pretty cool both literally and figuratively

 

Plenty of diy options, just sayin...

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[Senseless1]

Plenty of diy options, just sayin...

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah I had a custom intake on my NA-T setup, but I was thinking specifically take the oem inlet and maybe filling it with some kind of casting material, smooth it out, then just hand laying some composites over it. I guess you could get carried away with cost pretty quick though.

Idk some time with n the next 5 years I want to save up and build out a space to do some composites stuff.

 

My NA-T intake had the hard 90* right off the turbo, but I do appreciate how clean it looks run under the intake manifold. Idk at this point I need to sell parts before I can even afford a China inlet to get me up and running. I don't like that I had to use a cobra head coupler. It's just a squared off 90* that has to flow like crap.

[Senseless1]

Along those same lines I'm curious what materials cost is for diy composite intake manifold spacers. I assume my ej25d phenolic spacers won't for the ej255?

[Das Ninjabot]

Along those same lines I'm curious what materials cost is for diy composite intake manifold spacers. I assume my ej25d phenolic spacers won't for the ej255?

 

I don't believe they will fit, but I think Grimmspeed offers some 3mm spacers for something like $50. Between materials and time, you'd probably be money ahead just buying them.

[Senseless1]

Lol

[Senseless1]

I sacrificed my oil drain tube for the sake time. I think I had to yank the whole turbo with the hoist to get that oil drain off last time. I was able to leave the exhaust manifold, up and down pipe, and turbo still hanging in the car so I just sliced it in half with a razor blade. I think I wa using fragola push lock hose or something idk. It was really really thick and rigid, which makes install nice. You just attach it to the turbo and use the turbo to press the hose on the engine. I may have to pull the turbo yet to reattach the oil drain we'll see. My ej25d oil pan is exactly the same as the 04 Forester XT pan. I'm cleaning the cobwebbs out and running this guy tomorrow. My clutch disk like rusted to the flywheel. I have a new stage 2 disk, but that poor flywheel has a ton of corrosive buildup on it. I'll have to see what I can clean up by hand with sandpaper because this just needs to go back together. My time is up Friday, so everything I major in the engine bay needs to be complete. I'll have the car towed back to my apartment and do the wiring there. Got the call that my work is opening back up today as well. I'm towards the bottom of a long list, but still all the more reason to make do with what I have and get it done. Edited May 13, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

So my clutch and flywheel look like trash. The clutch disk was rusted together in pure me big chunk.

I'm going to try and clean them up the best I can by hand because I'm out of money. It was awful grabby IIRC so the corrosion makes sense. I have a new clutch disk on hand. Freaking subaru...$30 for the oil pan to engine block gasket. The little o-ring. I forgot these stupid gaskets are always hard as a rock and break apart usually. Will be dropping it in later tonight. May or may not show how bad the clutch is before I reuse it lol

[Das Ninjabot]

So my clutch and flywheel look like trash. The clutch disk was rusted together in pure me big chunk.

 

Can you get someone local to you to resurface the flywheel? I think it was $40 last time I had it done.

[Senseless1]

Can you get someone local to you to resurface the flywheel? I think it was $40 last time I had it done.

 

I spent my last $20 on the oil pan gasket.

I was able to remove the rust and achieve some semblance of a consistent surface finish, so while it might be grabby, hold like crap, and burn up my new clutch disk real fast it'll have to work for now.

I think it'll be fine short term. I used fine steel wool for the final passes using a cross hatch pattern similar to what you would put on a brake rotor to help the friction material break in evenly.

 

I think it's becoming painfully obvious that this swap won't be ready for Boxerfest autocross in September, but if I can drive it there and back that'll be good enough.

 

Moroso oil pickup had to come out because it doesn't fit the Forester XT syle oil pan I have. It must be for the more triangle shaped newer sti oil pan. We'll save it for an ELH swap someday.

Also didn't have enough foresight to fight the dip stick before starting my oil pan bolts. The angle ended up being drastic creating a fight. I should've bolted the dipstick tube back down and just tapped the oil pan onto it before starting screws.

Swapped my group N engine mounts over and assessed power steering lines. Removed flex plate and dug out my last 6" of good oil drain tube.

I did not save the right power steering line from the FXT so hopefully I can hodgepodge something together using the legacy line.

Slow going working out of a storage unit and having to hand sand the clutch and flywheel.

All my pro tools are air, which isn't doing me any favors. Really could've used that Milwaukee right angle die grinder and some roloc discs but whatever.

I have to keep remembering I'm lucky to even be able to get this far.

 

My state unemployment program is a mess. I filed back on April 7th and have yet to see or hear anything. I'm being told by friends that I might see a response in another week and money in two weeks, but my garage time is up Friday. I can do little things going forward, but nothing like swapping an engine. I can pull the dash and work inside the car no problem.

Unfortunately that means having to compromise and make do as I go. Anyone want to buy a tdo4? Lol it's actually in really good shape. I wouldn't even rebuild it just run it.

I was hoping to have more luck selling parts, but I guess I'm not the only one waiting on stable income.

My job is going to slowly start opening up, but I did not make the short list, but that adds a sense of urgency to finish the project. Once I'm back at work trucking tools back and forth hurts my paycheck.

[Senseless1]

Not that you can really see anything but here it is.

For the record, don't do what I'm about to do and use parts like this:

[Senseless1]

Rise and shine boys. Got an early start and installed the front sway bar, tie rod jam nuts, and power steering pressure hose and reservoir. Really getting tired of the itchiness from my heat wrap. Seems like antiseize in that if I just look at it I'm covered.

I called in a favor to borrow some money to source a power steering return line and junkyard mirror I'm about to go order, then I'll be moving things around to stage for engine install including installing the clutch. I'm waiting to drop the engine in to get the power steering return hose installed first. These lines suck to work on with almost no space. I'd rather hustle tomorrow than have to pop the axle out to get space and fight after the engine is in.

Coming along. Still planning to have the engine installed and storage unit empty by tomorrow.